


You're Mine

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: FullmoonFiclet Entries [12]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anchors, Future Fic, M/M, Stiles-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 05:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5654341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two sides to a coin, two ways to go. Black or white, dark or light, wrong or right. It's one or the other, and the only thing Stiles heard often enough to stick is that the choice is his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Mine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Full Moon Ficlet challenge on Livejournal, [prompt #132: duality](http://fullmoon-ficlet.livejournal.com/338740.html)

_In the end, it's about the choices you make._

Stiles has heard the line so many times, he almost believes it. He's almost convinced himself that as long as he keeps his decisions firmly on the right side, the wrong one will not matter. But there have always been two sides, always two halves of him, though he never allowed anyone else to see them both.

Having seen Scott firmly trust in everything and everyone unless they directly cause harm to the few people he's chosen to think of as worthy, Stiles knows what he has to do.

So Scott doesn't know. Neither does the Sheriff, who -- if Stiles could help it in any way -- wouldn't know anything that might put him even remotely in the line of fire… or claws, or whatever else might threaten their lives.

_You might not believe it, but you do have the options. It's not about what's predestined, because nothing is, not really._

He suspects some people still wonder how much of the darkness has stuck to Stiles' bones after the Nogitsune, how much of the evil lingers. What none of them realize is that he'd been chosen for more than one reason, for more than just being an easy target, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the weakness he showed. The darkness wasn't new to Stiles, when the Trickster took hold of his mind.

"I'm not good," he whispers sometimes, when he's alone and when it becomes too much to bear.

Scott's trust can be a heavy weight to carry, some days. Stiles knows that the side of him that could so easily be drawn into evil was winning, he realized it when he became aware of what the Trickster was doing while using his body. The spells of emptiness were a distant memory already -- it was safe when he couldn't remember, because then he knew that the light half of him was battling strongly -- and knowing that meant that it was partly _him_ , and not only the Nogitsune.

_It wasn't you. It will never be you. Weakness doesn't mean that one side of you loses, that the bad takes over. It just means both of them are there, as in all of us. And in the end, it's about the choices you make. It's about which part of you makes the final decision._

Ever since the beginning, since everything exploded with fur and fangs and blood and claws, there was only one person whom Stiles knew he could talk to. With Scott as the epitome of good, the Sheriff on the law side of it and Melissa as the Healer, Stiles didn't have many people to turn to.

**You should listen to yourself.**

_I'm not really good at that._

**I know. What keeps you from making the wrong decisions?**

_Anchors aren't just for wolves, you know?_

**How is that supposed to be an answer?**

_If you're asking, then it's nothing you should worry about._

**Derek.**

_Stiles._

And it's then that it clicks, and the puzzle pieces slot together. It's when Derek won't tell him what's keeping him grounded that Stiles figures it out.

_Find your anchor._

It's an old message, from the days after they parted ways in Mexico. But it's one that kept Stiles going before he even had it as a constant reminder on his phone.

**Me.**

The message he sends couldn't be simpler, and yet it says almost everything. The only thing that answers more is the link to flight details for the week that's coming up.

_You still shouldn't worry about it._

**Have we met?**

_Maybe. Not like this. Not when you know._

**Get here, Sourwolf. I need you to keep me on the ground.**

___

Stiles is at the airport alone that day. He hasn't told anyone more than the necessary, left Derek's name out of it completely. He needs to know, first, if the lifeline goes both ways, and he can't tell with others hovering over his shoulder.

"Hey," Derek says when they're standing face to face again, after months of Derek's absence.

It takes a few beats, a silence almost drowned out in the bustle of the airport, but then it clicks. They're both torn between the two sides, neither strong enough to stay away from the temptation when they're on their own. It's being together that keeps them both safe, keeps them just far enough from the edge to not fall into darkness.

"You're mine," Stiles whispers loud enough for Derek's ears.

It's everything: you're mine to hold on to, you're my light, you're my solid ground, _you're my anchor_. You're my reason to choose right.

Derek, true to the self that he was from the first day, doesn't answer with words.


End file.
